Search form

News

Five kilometers (3.10 miles) northeast of Trujillo is CHAN CHAN, a pre-Columbian city built out of adobe, and the largest in Latin America of its kind. Chan Chan, one of the most ancient archaeological sites in the Americas, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

Chan Chan was built over an area of 20 km2 (7.72 square miles), and at one point contained a population of approximately 100,000 people.
Due to its large size and importance, Chan Chan was the capital of the Chimor kingdom, the political organization of the Chimú culture.

Archaeologists believe that Chan Chan housed workshops, streets, ramparts and pyramid temples, thus demonstrating the high degree of urban development among its inhabitants. The city’s enormous walls are decorated with reliefs of geometric figures, zoomorphic depictions and mythological creatures, which lead us to wonder about the meaning behind each one of them, and their connection to the surroundings.

A visit to Chan Chan is essential to understanding Peru’s history and customs, and is a must-see for any traveler to Northern Peru.